Coincidental
by Wusel-chan
Summary: This story starts to take place between chapter 699 & 700, after Sarada is born and Sakura living alone with her. Occasionally Sakura's thought drift from one memory to another, revealing what happened after the war and before she became a mother. I hope it won't be confusing for you while you read it. Maybe changing the Rating later, depending of what will happen. [Slight Sai/Ino]
1. Prologue

**I finally got my muse back, so I directly wrote a prologue for a new story. There will be some jumps between the years and scenes, so you better concentrate while reading. =) A big thanks to my dear friend and beta reader, who corrected my mistakes! Without her, it would not be uploaded so fast. I dedicate this story to emilyvedder, who translated something really special for me last night. Thanks to you, I finally understood his words. xD~ In the prologue won't be any direct speech or direct thoughts, it's just a summery and the beginning of the story. Please enjoy it and leave a review.  
**

Years had passed since Sakura met Sasuke the last time. She couldn't believe that she was raising their child, while he was following traces of the past. But it wasn't a dream – they were officially married and had a daughter, who had one hell of a father-complex. Who could blame Sarada? Growing up with a photo of her father, knowing he was somewhere else and not coming back any time soon. For now it was the best to keep silent about Sasuke, no matter how much Sarada complained. Yet when it was night and her daughter was sleeping tightly, Sakura would grab the only photo of them together: when they became Team Seven along with Naruto – the Seventh Hokage – and Kakashi-sensei. In those nights silent tears of loneliness ran over her cheeks with the strong wish, that her husband would come home one day – alive and healthy. Although currently there was no sign that this would happen anytime soon.

While Sarada was spending her days in the academy, Sakura worked in the hospital as a doctor to earn enough money to keep them going. Sometimes she wondered if she made the right choice, when she followed her heart and not her brain. If she had chosen Naruto in the end, everything would be less difficult and painful. How was it even possible that Sasuke had such an influence on her? But if she had chosen otherwise, Sarada wouldn't exist and that fact alone was enough for Sakura to ignore her logical side and stick to her heart, which never gave up on the last Uchiha – the wet dream of all women. Even though she had serious rivals in the past like Ino and Karin, Sakura had faith in him and trusted him completely, while hoping she would be enough to rebuild his clan with him. For him she would bear ten children, if necessary. After all, the pressure of an entire clan was laying on Sasuke's shoulders. For her it meant that they were sharing this weight, since they were married and promised to support each other in good and in bad times. Although Sasuke didn't act that way so far, since he was travelling to redeem himself from the sins he had committed. But when Sakura was honest with herself, would that even change if he came back home one day?

The Sasuke she had known since they were little kids was not one to share anything with anyone. By now she was aware of what happened when they were still young, the massacre of his entire clan. That incident led him on the road to becoming an avenger, who only sought for revenge. It didn't matter how he would obtain power as long as he was able to kill his brother. As he reached his goal and they thought he would finally come back after spending years away from Konohagakure and training under the nuke-nin Orochimaru, they had been wrong. After hearing the truth of Itachi's life behind the mask of lies, all Sasuke wanted was revenge. And he didn't care about how he would act out this endless desire born from hatred.

Even after time had passed and he met his dead brother through Edo Tensei, his wish to kill never ended. Until the very end he even tried to kill his best friend Naruto, who never gave up on him. In that fight both of them lost an arm and Sasuke told Sakura afterwards that he was sorry, while she was taking care of their wounds. But even as he said that he was sorry and later that he would see her again, placing his fingers gently on her forehead and poking her with a smile which made her feel as if she was in Heaven, he only met her once after promising to see her soon and thanking her.

When he was gone, she got anxious after two years of waiting, Naruto approached her one day off, when she was wandering around the streets aimlessly. He invited her to eat some ramen together, because he wanted to have a proper talk with her. Uneasy she accepted and wondered, what the hero of the village – actually of the war – wanted to discuss with her and after they ordered their soup, Teuchi – the owner of Ichiraku's - left them alone when he received a wink from his usual customer, realizing that this would be a private chat that they wanted to have.

While eating in silence for quite some time, Sakura became more and more restless and Naruto stopped eating in the middle, as he looked towards a wall of the shop in thought, he started to talk about the things he knew and had never shared with her before. At first he spoke about meeting Itachi long ago, who entrusted his younger brother to his care. That time when they met Sasuke at the bridge where he killed Danzou and their fists met, he told her what he could see in their former teammate's heart. All the information he kept hidden for so long sputtered out all at once. The real story behind Itachi Uchiha's betrayal of Konoha and the massacre of the Uchiha clan and everything he knew about him and Sasuke, especially the darkness in his heart. Without saying a word, she just listened silently and eventually stopped eating, since her appetite vanished, she felt sick to her stomach due to the newly revealed truth. After Naruto finished once he was done talking, Sakura thanked him honestly for telling her all those things and entrusting Sasuke's problems to her, as she put down the money for both portions and then leaving Naruto, without giving him the chance to follow. The shock sank in deeper and later on when she came to the very bench where Sasuke had left her alone when they were twelve years old, she turned towards the bushes and threw up. At that point she was not ready to deal with all that information at once. Her emotional condition caused her physical pain. How was she not able to notice the pain behind his hatred? She was the one who loved and cherished him the most after all, yet she was a complete outsider in his world. Were his words even honest, when he said they would meet soon? By now two years had passed already and there was no sign of him. Slowly she started to doubt herself, when she dropped onto that too familiar bench. Her right fingers brushed over it tenderly, while she asked him in her thoughts, if he ever regretted leaving her behind, when his twelve year old self left their hometown, while she waited there due to her instincts telling her that something bad might happen. Back in those days she was useless and would not be able to help him exact his revenge, even though she promised him that she would. So it was no surprise in the end that he rejected her entirely and knocked her off, before he left. It was the time when he was gone, that she learned how to be a medical ninja and how to heal injuries. Sighing deeply and closing her eyes for a moment, she wished she could rewrite their entire past in order to not regret anything. After dwelling in the facts of what she heard from Naruto, she eventually got up and continued her day, while she promised herself that she would wait for him to come home as he promised this time – even if it took a lifetime.

Two more years after she heard everything from the most unpredictable ninja Naruto Uzumaki, the meeting of Sasuke and Sakura would be pure coincidence as she knew deep down in her empty heart by now.

It was on a trip through the countries she and Sai had done in order to deliver a scroll to each Hidden Village of each country which was part of the 'Five Great Shinobi Countries'. Usually they travelled the normal way, because they didn't want to catch any unneeded attention from flying on one of Sai's drawn birds. First of all they visited Sunagakure, since they were allies even before the Fourth Shinobi War took place. After that they travelled to Iwagakure and after some proper rest they headed out once again towards Kumogakure. On their way to the Land of Lightning, they had to pass through Takigakure, the Land of Iron, the Land of Sound and the Land of Hot Water, where they went to an onsen, where they planned to sleep overnight.

Nothing went as planned, as it was a bath shared with both genders. Sakura told her teammate to tell her later, when the old perverts would be gone and so she had dinner alone in the meantime. The hostess of this onsen – an old lady – asked Sakura, if there was something going on between her and that pale young man she was travelling with and as the pink haired kunoichi heard the question, she couldn't help but burst out laughing harder than she wanted to. Still laughing with teary eyes, she shook her left hand in front of her own face while denying.

At that time Sai was already dating Ino secretly and she was one of a small group of friends to know about it and since Sakura had told her best friend how she and Sasuke parted after the war, the blonde trusted her entirely whenever the both of them went on a mission together. Even if Sakura wasn't still in love with Sasuke, there was no way on Earth she would be dating that rude guy, even if he was the last man alive. She would rather end up alone for eternity.

While she was laughing on the inside, she silently ate the food which the hostess brought over to her room, which she had all for herself, since she didn't even want to sleep with Sai in one room, not because she didn't trust him, but because the thought was kind of creepy. After all she was still a young woman and didn't want any gossip to run through this onsen. And she told herself that she would do better, if she was alone.


	2. 01 Absent Father(s)

**A/N: I'm a big troll, since this chapter is focused on the present and not the past, but the scene of the onsen will continue near the end, too. I'm just trying to raise the thrill.**

 **A big thanks once more to my beta-reader who is helping me out a lot! 3**

 **Please leave a comment to keep me motivated to write more, because I need the motivation to not drop it like other stories I stopped writing. Thank you for your attention. Now enjoy the story. =)**

"Mom?" A familiar voice suddenly woke her up from the past she dwelled in until now. Surprised, Sakura looked towards her daughter, who had just come home from the academy. It shocked her as she looked at the clock on the wall, realizing that it was already afternoon. "Hey sweetheart, are you hungry?" she asked her daughter with a more cheerful tone than her mood was, since she didn't want to worry her child. Then she got up and stretched herself to get back to reality, because she told herself over the years not to think about Sasuke while Sarada was around.

"Not yet. I wondered if you could train me in chakra control. Next week there will be a parent-teacher conference and we need to show our progress. So I want to give my best for you and…Will he come home to watch me?" The eight year old girl asked in a pleading tone, hoping that she would get a positive answer. As Sakura heard this question, she bit her bottom lip helplessly and in frustration. At times like this Sasuke was supposed to be there for his daughter, but of course he wouldn't. With a forced smile she answered: "I'm sorry sweetheart, but your father won't make it. You know, he is very busy right now and has to do a lot of things. But once he has finished it all, he will come back…Please be a bit more patient. I will go with you and then you can show me how much you have improved by now. And since you asked me to train you, I'll gladly lend you a hand. What do you want me to cook afterwards?"

Sarada's head dropped and she looked at her feet, before she sighed: "Of course he wouldn't come when his only daughter had an important event coming up…" After a short pause, she continued: "After training I want to go to Ichiraku's with you. Maybe we can find the Seventh-sama there." With those words she looked up, facing her mother with the same kind of smile she herself had just used. Sakura felt awful, seeing herself in her daughter in such a moment. Normally she would be happy to find herself in Sarada, but not when they spoke about him. This was the only time when she didn't want to see the expression that she used with the feeling of emptiness, missing the man she loved so deeply.

"Alright that's a deal." The pink haired replied more cheerfully. Somehow it was adorable that the young girl looked up at Naruto, not only because he was Hokage now, but because he was a close friend and somewhat like a father figure in her child's life. Grabbing her daughter's hand, they walked to the floor to put on their shoes. Afterwards they went outside and walked to the training ground where Sakura was trained by Tsunade long ago.

After explaining how to use her fist to strike down into the ground while concentrating her chakra to the hand, she demonstrated it to show the effect of such strength.

"Mama you are awesome!" Sarada gasped, surprised by the impact of brute strength. The young girl thought that it would be best to never piss her mom off. Chuckling, amused and kind of proud, Sakura walked towards her daughter and took her hand gently in hers, as she demanded: "Now it's your turn. Focus your chakra around your hand." Then she observed her kid's hand while it started to glow irregularly. This made her smile, because even as Sarada was already able to focus her chakra into one spot of her body, she still had a long way to go. "You are really good for your age, but you need the chakra flow to be constant and stable." She lectured her, as she moved her free hand next to the other's to show her what it was supposed to look like. After inhaling deeply in and out, the young girl tried to do it again. This time the flow of chakra was flowing the same way as her mother's – just less of it.

"How are you able to control so much chakra? Before, your hand was glowing so much more than now. What makes the difference?" Sarada asked her mother curious. Sakura smirked amused by a question that was based through a good courtesy. "If your chakra control will be as good as mine, it helps to add emotions into your thoughts, but there is a trick: Never let this anger take over you. As a shinobi you need to have a cool mind to judge a situation and to be able to protect yourself and your comrades. So it isn't about anger of a current situation, but anger you carry around more subconsciously. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

The girl frowned behind her glasses, before she answered: "In that case I want to think more about it, before I practice this. I want to find a solution to your words and want to practice my chakra control by myself. I don't want to hurt myself."

"I think it was a good lesson, because if you think about it, you will automatically get better." Sakura explained with her right hand's index finger resting on her own chin.

"Mom, I don't understand it…" Sarada pouted, because she didn't know that if someone was occupied by something, that person would figure it out on their own and the development would be greater.

Remembering the first time – which was a long time ago by now -, she poked her daughter's forehead. She couldn't help herself but saying: "Maybe I will tell you next time, if you don't figure it out by then." As she said it, a bright smile was seen on the pink haired kunoichi and her child smiled back. It was a rare smile her mother showed every once in a while and Sarada swore to herself to treasure it. As they moved away from the training ground, Sakura took her hand and walked back into the city, ignoring her pouting that she wasn't a kid anymore who could walk alone.

After having a nice walk through the town, they found themselves in front of Ichiraku's just as planned. Together they went inside and found Naruto sitting there and eating his second bowl of ramen. "Seventh!" Sarada almost squealed, as she sat next to him with excitement and curiosity in her sparkling eyes. "Good evening Naruto, so you really are here. Why are you not eating at home with your family?" Sakura asked directly with a frown on her face. Even though it was none of her business, she couldn't believe that he was still coming here ever so often instead of eating the meals Hinata cooked for him and their children. "Well, you see – I just came here to fill my stomach and afterwards I will go back to the office and continue working. I will be home pretty late and I don't want to give my family false hopes of coming home early just to leave again after dinner."

"Oh…" Sakura managed to reply, as Teuchi turned to his new customers. "What can I bring you, ladies?" he asked with his friendly attitude, looking at them with a smile. It was almost unbelievable that those two were already grown up adults with their own kids. Time flew by so fast.

Sarada looked at Naruto's half emptied bowl, as she pointed towards it. "I want the same as Hokage-sama has." She answered in a cheerful mood, which even surprised Sakura. Finally sitting down next to her daughter, she added: "Same for me please, Teuchi-san." Nodding, pleased, the cook turned around and started to prepare the two bowls.

"So what brings you two here?" Naruto asked, as he finished his second bowl slower than he used to as a kid. When Sakura opened her mouth to answer, her daughter was faster to answer that question: "Mom trained me chakra controlling and I think I got the basics now. I just need to think about it a bit more to understand her preaching. Next week we have got a meeting at the academy with our parents will you come to see Boruto, too?"

Teuchi turned around and served his guests the ordered soups, before he looked at Naruto, who ordered a third round for himself.

"Actually no, I won't have the time to see him practicing. Working as the Hokage is more paperwork than I ever imagined. His mother – my wife – will go instead." Naruto answered honestly, but as he saw the sadness behind Sarada's eyes, he added: "Everyone in Konohagakure is my family and I need to do all the work to protect them in my way. I need to think about everyone's abilities before I form teams for the different missions. I hope Boruto will understand that too, one day."

Sarada silently ate her ramen before she got up and looked at him with tears welling up in her eyes. "Why are you fathers always doing other things instead of taking care of your own children?" she asked him with a raised voice before she looked at her mother, saying in a calmer voice: "I'm going home."

Since Sakura was still eating, she dropped her chopsticks to follow her daughter. Naruto grabbed her arm while saying: "Let her go and give her some time to cool off. She is just like Boruto, when it comes to their fathers. Both of them are missing their dads due to their absence, although your daughter has it worse and is still less troublesome than my son. But you know, Sakura-chan, she will be fine." While saying this, the blonde smiled this one irreplaceable smile he gave her, when he promised to bring Sasuke back for the first time. Back in those days she cried her heart out, begging him to meet her wish but this time she wouldn't cry but smile back, which reflected her beliefs in Sarada.

"You're right. Let's finish eating." She suggested while she continued to eat. Naruto nodded, pleased by her idea as he finished his own ramen.

In the process she asked him, if he had heard from Sasuke these days but he hadn't received any messages from his hawk. But knowing him, he would just be busy concentrating on following the leads he had so far. Sakura giggled, imagining her husband being all busy and eventually missing his family as much as they did. This idea eased her pain and the evening just felt more peaceful.

When they finished Naruto paid for all of them with the statement "As the current Hokage I can't let my closest friend and her daughter pay for their ramen, when I had as much fun as they had." Sakura was quite dumbfounded, before she said: "You surely grew into a fine man, Uzumaki Naruto. Hinata can be happy that she found such a reasonable husband."

Hearing such an honest and fond compliment, Naruto couldn't help but blush slightly while he scratched his right cheek with his index finger nervously. "May I take you home before I continue my work?" he asked almost hopefully, because he wanted to talk to her some more, since they didn't have much time together these days. Usually he was either working or with his family, so spending some time with his former teammate and close friend surely was a rarity.

"If Hinata won't be jealous, then I think it should not be a problem. It has been a while since we saw each other." She admitted and confirmed his thoughts. Naruto nodded slowly, as he explained: "You know, Hinata is not that kind of woman. She knows what kind of bond you and I share. Actually she asked me if you and Sarada would come over to visit us one of these days. She knows that you are raising your child alone and she would like to spend some time with you. I think she wants to exchange experiences of parenting and stuff. And having company of another woman who doesn't see her husband often too, would be good for both of you." He was still the same open person he always was and that was a bit startling. All of them went through so much in the past and yet he was still shining like he always had.

While they walked, Naruto started to tell her all the stuff in detail about how hard and unexpected the work of a Hokage actually was and she laughed and told him, that he should have known it better. Tsunade was drowning in work in the past, too. So why would this suddenly change?

As they were near her home, she told him that she would walk the rest alone, so he could go back to work. As they parted ways, she walked faster to check on her daughter. When she was at home, all lights were out and she rushed into Sarada's room. Her daughter was sleeping peacefully on her bed, while still dressed. Sakura smiled softly, as she sneaked inside and changed her clothes into proper pyjamas, before she pulled the sheets over her. Carefully, she rubbed away the half dried tears of her child, before she kneeled down and kissed her forehead after removing her glasses. "Mama…Papa…" she whimpered in her sleep, so Sakura sat down on the ground and holding her sleeping daughter's hand and stroking it with her thumb. "Shhht…I'm here. One day papa will be with us, too. Don't worry…" she whispered, realizing that her words were not only meant for Sarada, but for herself, too.

Apparently she heard the words unconsciously, as a hint of a smile was visible on the girl's face. After watching her sleep for a while, which felt like an eternity, Sakura got up and walked into the living room to do the rest of the housework. After she was done, she went into the bathroom to run herself a hot bath. Tired from the emotional rollercoaster she had to ride almost every day, she undressed herself and washed her body while looking in the mirror. By now she was a fully developed woman, but she was still unsatisfied with her breasts. Women like Hinata had so much luck while she was fighting against her complex.

Swearing silently she washed the shampoo off her body and got into the tub carefully. When her body was covered with hot and relaxing water, she leaned her head against the head end of the tub with closed eyes and letting go off all the worries she just had a moment before.

It knocked at her room, as she answered to come inside. It was Sai who was wearing a bathrobe. "The bath is empty now. No one is in there anymore and you should have a peaceful rest in the hot spring." He said in his usual tone. Sakura thanked him and wondered what her best friend Ino saw in Sai – he was not like Sasuke at all. But it was for the better, that she had one rival less in her love life. "Well, I'm going to eat my own dinner now, if you need me I'm in the room on the left next to yours. Good night." And with those words spoken, the pale teammate left the room and closed it behind him.

Sakura sighed lowly, because she thought that he was still difficult to deal with even after spending years in the same team. After she finished eating, she took a bathrobe and a towel with her, before she went into the changing room. After undressing herself, she walked into the washroom to clean her body before she got into the hot spring. While she cleaned herself, she hummed a melody she had heard somewhere before. When she was done, she wrapped the towel around herself and walked outside. Luckily her teammate was right and no one was there. Carefully she climbed into the hot water, as she removed the towel and sighed. Nothing was better than a hot spring with no one using it this late. She relaxed her body and closed her eyes, thinking back to the time she and Sasuke parted. While she dwelled in this bittersweet memory, she eventually fell asleep with a big grin on her lips from this treasured memory.

After an unknown amount of time she felt a poke on her forehead and thought she was still dreaming, as she giggled, pleased. "Oy, you shouldn't let your guard down all by yourself." This voice seemed so distant and far away, yet it was so familiar and comforting. "Sakura, are you listening?" the voice asked half worried, half annoyed by her lack of reaction. As she realized it wasn't a dream but reality, her eyes opened widely, seeing Sasuke with a towel wrapped around his waist and looking down at her, while he stood on the ground behind her. A scream of surprise and shock escaped her mouth, as she grabbed her towel and ran out of the water, running through the washroom and the changing room. Panicky she took her clothes and bathrobe, before she ran off into her room, closing it forcefully. Without even realizing it, she leaned against the door and sank to the ground, breathing heavily. Could it be a prank from Sai or could it be true that Sasuke was in the same place as they were just through coincidence? And if it was really true, did he just see her naked while she was asleep in the onsen?


	3. 02 A Single Man Tear

**A/N: This time it continues where I stopped, because I had a funny idea. Oh dear, I'm such a troll. PLEASE REVIEW, because even though I have some followers on that story, I want to hear you thoughts. Thank you. And since it was my grandma's death day today (or better said yesterday by now), the chapter turned out totally different than I planned. So if it gets emotional, you can guess why.**

Sakura's thoughts were a complete mess. But what if it really was Sasuke before? She slowly got up and leaned against the door and she sighed deeply. If it was him, she should go back and talk to him. Slapping her cheeks with her hands to concentrate, she picked up the stuff she had dropped before. Looking at them, she wondered if she should put on her usual clothes, change into her sleeping outfit or if she should dare to wear the bathrobe. As she decided on the bathrobe and slid her arms into it, the door suddenly opened without a knock. Dumbfounded, she looked at the black hair. Her eyes showed excitement before she realized it was Sai who had come in. Seeing her just getting into the bathrobe, while she was exposing her entire front made him blush for a second, while he tried to explain himself.

"I…heard a loud sound… and… was worried… you fainted… or… were attacked…" he explained, looking away nervously. Before he knew what happened, she was right in front of him while a popping vein on her forehead was visible. "You sick pervert! Shannaro!" she yelled at him, while her right fist hit his cheek and he flew through the corridor and hit the wall. Breathing heavily, she closed it again after she entered her room. Now she was quite sure, that it was him who had dared to prank her. But a small light of hope was still inside her, but she gave up the idea of seducing him, if there was a chance to meet him. After all, he was still the man who left without her and who didn't try to contact her in the following years. A deep and frustrated sigh escaped her lips, before she got out of the bathrobe and put it away. Then she went to her bag and took out a rose tank top and white shorts. After she dried herself and got into her sleeping clothes, she tidied up the little mess she had made by rushing back into her own room. When everything looked the way that it should, she went over to the panorama window and sat down on the sill, while looking outside at the dark sky. Barely five minutes passed, before she saw a shooting star. A dreamy smile crossed her lips, before she closed her eyes and wished for him to be here for real. Then she giggled about her own wish, because this was just the fantasy of a young adult woman who wanted to see the love of her life. A man who was out of reach almost the entire time that she had known him. "I'm an idiot, ain't I?" she asked herself and as if the fallen star had granted her wish, someone suddenly knocked on her door. "I hope for Sai, that he is not the one behind that door." She whispered angrily, as she got up and opened it. To her surprise it was the old lady, who was running this place. "Excuse me for the late disturbance, but you have a visitor downstairs. He is a young and handsome man who travels alone and who stays here overnight like you guys. He told me he knows you. But since I didn't want to cause any problems with your boyfriend, I thought of coming by myself to tell you. He is waiting downstairs in the foyer." She explained with a mischievous smile, wondering if Sakura was two-timing Sai.

Hearing those words, her heart skipped a beat in excitement. This was no dream and her wish had just become reality. Her entire face reddened, because she wanted to see him so badly. "Thank you." She almost whispered, because she was too nervous to keep up a cool attitude. The old lady walked away and Sakura followed her. Right now she didn't even think of herself wearing her nightclothes already, but just about what she would say to him. While her thoughts circled around the meeting that was about to happen, she remembered the moment in the onsen and gasped embarrassed. "It's none of my business to put my nose into things which are not my business, but you better be careful or your boyfriend will find out about this…" The old lady suddenly said in a low tone, while they walked down the staircase.

"He is NOT my boyfriend. We are just teammates. Nothing more and nothing less." She answered in a dangerous tone, because it pissed her off, that someone could even imagine them together. As they reached the end of the stairs, Sakura found Sasuke sitting on a couch lazily, with his head rested on the top and his eyes were closed. He wore casual clothes which she hadn't seen before, but he looked as gorgeous as ever. As soon as he could feel their presence, he opened his right eye and looked over. More stiff than she would normally be, the pink haired kunoichi walked over slowly, obviously nervous and almost robotic. "Sakura." He simply said when she was almost there. A shiver ran down her spine in pleasure just by hearing her own name in his cold-hearted voice. How much she missed him and how desperate she was to see him again. But as she matured over the years, she pushed her excitement aside and looked at him almost curiously. "It's been a while." He simply added, waiting for her to respond, but she just looked – almost stared – at him silently. So he continued after a brief moment of silence. "In the onsen, I didn't mean to peek at you, but you were sleeping in such a place, which is not like you and I-" He couldn't finish and sighed. Something was holding him back and Sakura wondered what it was. Of course she had no idea at all, that he wanted to say that he was worried about her, being so defenseless in such a place. But she misinterpreted his sudden stop and waved nervously with her right hand in front of her face. "It's nothing, really. It happens to the best of us: getting caught naked." Her voice was shaking and she looked away embarrassed, because she couldn't face him in that very moment. Her mind was yelling 'You better remember my naked body and don't look at other girls!', while her outer appearance didn't change at all.

"Care to take a walk outside?" he suddenly asked. Her first question in her thoughts was, if this was a date, but she couldn't possibly ask him such a blunt question directly. "Uhm, sure." She answered instead and forced a smile to appear on her lips, because she wanted to hide all the emotions that ran through her in that very moment. With a satisfied nod he got up and walked over to the reception where the old lady stood behind the desk, smiling all over her face, curious. "What can I do for you, young man? Want to take your girlfriend out and rent some geta (traditional Japanese sandals made of wooden like Jiraiya wore)? You could also rent yukata for you two, since there is a little city festival close by." She offered, as she looked over to Sakura, who still stood at the same place, not sure what was going on. "Aa." He simply replied and closed his eyes, wondering if this was a good idea, but then again it was her who he would go with and then he smirked, because she would probably be totally excited about it. After all he had a plan already and this was the perfect chance. The lady lifted her right index finger as a sign to wait, before she went into the room in the back while yelling out for her husband to bring over a yukata and geta for a young man. Then she went to another room where these kind of clothes were stored for women. After barely a minute she came back with a white yukata for women which had pink petals all over it. With a simple nod to Sasuke, she walked over to Sakura and grabbed her hand to take her along. The confused Sakura followed her with a surprised expression on her face. They walked upstairs back to her room and when the owner closed the door behind them, she said: "You two are going to walk over the festival, so you better wear something decent. I'll help you to get dressed properly, so you better enjoy your time there. It's such a wonderful thing to be young, isn't it?" she asked in a dreamy tone, while she remembered her own youth. Sakura turned her back on the woman to get undressed, before she turned her head around to take the yukata and get into it. When she was done, she turned around, so the old woman could help her wrap the obi (traditional belt used along with the yukata) around her waist properly. After they were done, she pulled out a hair slide from her pocket to take care of Sakura's hair. When she was done, she circled around Sakura once and smiled, satisfied. "You look really beautiful and he will totally fall in love with you more than he already has." She said, pleased. Sakura blushed for a moment, before she answered. "Well, it's not like that…We just have known each other since childhood and-" Sakura tried to explain, but the other woman shook her head slowly and interrupted her: "Trust me, Haruno-san. This man laid his eyes on you. This will be a perfect chance to confess your feelings for him!"

Hearing that, Sakura smiled sadly, because she remembered how her other confessions had gone in the past and she decided to not make the same mistake again. As she looked in the mirror to see herself looking like a real beauty, she smiled happily before they went back downstairs to meet the husband of the old lady, who had helped Sasuke with his yukata, since he had only one hand left from the fight with Naruto directly after the fight with Kaguya.

As the young kunoichi reached the bottom of the stairs, she stared at her former teammate, who's yukata was simple navy blue and who looked even better than before. What she didn't realize was him staring back in just the same way she did. The old lady moved next to her husband and whispered something they couldn't hear. After a moment which felt like an eternity for the both of them, Sasuke suddenly coughed firmly, before he said in almost an ordering tone: "Let's go." With those words spoken, Sakura nodded and smiled before they left the house.

"That was one of the best moments we ever shared together…" Sakura said to herself, as she got out of the bathtub. Grabbing a large towel for her body and a small one for her hair, she wrapped herself up properly, before she stepped out the water and walked outside and into her bedroom. Technically it was their bedroom, but since he was never here, she felt like it was hers alone. The double bed always seemed too large for her and the empty side which was supposed to be Sasuke's, made her feel lonely. She let herself fall onto her side, looking up at the ceiling silently. "Where are you right now?" She whispered to herself, feeling tears running down her cheeks. "I miss you so much, baka."

The streets were crowded and a lot of people were walking both ways, pushing and pulling them around. It was very unpleasant and not even remotely romantic like she hoped it would be. On top of that was he walking in front of her and not beside her. Of course she was a strong woman and could deal with the people around, yet she wished for him to be more gentleman-like. Suddenly he stopped and she ran into him, surprised by his sudden halt. "Sasuke-kun?" she asked slightly confused, as she looked up to him, waiting for him to say something. "That's no good." He mumbled to himself, before he turned around and lifted her up with his right hand and throwing her over his shoulder easily. While he did she gasped, shocked and irritated, but before she could say anything, he jumped onto the first stall and over the next ones until he found a bridge which was quite empty next to the full streets. Without hesitation he landed in the middle of it, ignoring the surprised faces of some people and carefully letting her down. "What-?" Was all she could ask, before the fireworks suddenly started in the distance. "Hanabi!" Was the word which came out of her mouth instead, as she turned towards the water to enjoy the view from their location. Seeing all the different lights exploding in the sky excited her somehow and her eyes sparkled in joy of the scene. While being fascinated by it and enjoying it in the free evening in the middle of the mission, she didn't even realize that he watched her the entire time. It calmed him down somehow and since he hadn't seen her in quite a long time, the feeling was even stronger. Since that moment that she came to their rescue and when she healed his and Naruto's stumps, he realized and acknowledged her feelings for the very first time, which made him apologize. Now that they were young adults, she had become even more beautiful than she used to be and he wondered how her life was in Konoha and if there were any guys that would try to make a move on her. Even though she matured a lot, she was still shy and innocent in her own way and those were features he secretly treasured. Because of all the things he did in the past, he knew deep down that he didn't deserve her love or attention, yet their promise from their parting was the reason he didn't let go of the idea being together with her one day. The moment he had touched her forehead back then, he realized his own feelings and through the years they grew stronger. She was the only woman he wanted to be with and he wanted to make sure that she would stay with him no matter if they were apart. It was egotistic of him to have such a wish, but he couldn't help but wanting to bind her to him in every way possible.

"Sakura, where are you heading to?" he asked out of nowhere, when there was moment of silence and no fireworks appearing. She turned around and looked into his face which seemed to be way more serious than usual. Curiosity rose up but she was afraid to ruin the moment, so she simply answered: "Kumogakure. Afterwards we're supposed to head to Kirigakure and then back home." "'We'? Who is with you?" he asked in a tone which seemed to be angry. "Sai." She replied and wondered, what was going on in front of her. Suddenly his face had this darkness showing in his eyes and she asked herself if she had said something wrong. "My replacement is traveling with you, huh? Tch." A frown appeared on her forehead, because now she was really irritated by the sudden change of events. Feeling somehow defenseless against this darkness inside of him, she crossed her arms in front of her chest to feel more secure. As he closed his eyes and sighed, he turned completely towards her. Her eyebrows rose up when he suddenly looked so helpless from one moment to the other. As he opened them again, he looked into her eyes with a fierceness only an Uchiha could do. Unconsciously she held her breath, because she had no idea at all what he would say and that made her feel uncomfortable and yet very curious. "I will accompany you two on the way to Kumogakure and when we are there, I want you to marry me. Even if I'm not around, I want you to know that you are the only woman in my life and other guys should know that you are taken." He suddenly said with a sincerity she never saw before. After a brief moment of silence she reacted the same way she did when he once declared to become the next Hokage. Only this time no one else was there from their comrades to verify that he really said something ridiculous as this. Dumbfounded she didn't even answer him and he was really annoyed that she reacted like he was saying a joke no one would believe.

"…You are supposed to answer a proposal." He answered as calmly as possible, although his tone was threatening. It was such a disgrace to wait for an answer like this and his pride was hurt.

"Did you just ask me to marry you, Sasuke-kun?" she asked in shock, not able to give him a proper answer. Slowly he dropped his head, sighing. "Since when did you become as stupid as the well known usuratonkachi?" He asked her in return while he hid an ironic smile, that she was not freaking out in joy like he imagined it before. Suddenly the fireworks continued and there was a text written over the sky, which said: 'Congratulations Sakura' and distracted by the loud sound, she looked at it and dropped her jar because she believed that this was meant for her. Her mind finally understood the meaning of such an important question and that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, even when he was gone. Slowly, tears filled her eyes, because this was the dream she always had since she was a kid and after she fell in love with him. He watched her and he didn't miss the falling tears, which made him bite onto his bottom lip. It was a sign for him that she was sad – again, thanks to him - and that she probably moved on already. When the lights of the fireworks were gone, she turned around and asked. "You have planned this for quite a while, didn't you?" He nodded silently, before she asked another question: "Did you ask Kakashi-sensei to tell you where I was and tried to find us in time?" Another nod followed it and she couldn't help but cry for real, as she rubbed away the tears which didn't stop from the happiness in her entire body. "I will." She finally replied and he looked at her with a surprise which was totally unlike him. "Of course I will!" And with that reply that he had waited for since he left the village last time and wanted to tell her, she fell into his arms, needy for his embrace. Silently he held her with his arm and rested his chin on her pink head, thinking of his own parents and how they would react if they were still alive. He imagined the tears of joy in his mother's eyes and the proud nodding of his father as a sign of approval. Then he imagined the bright smile of his beloved brother Itachi, who would probably poke his forehead even now, while saying 'I'm proud of you. I will invite you two to a celebration next time.' before he would go on another mission of Anbu. How much he missed them. Tightening his grip around her slightly, she realized that he was struggling with his own emotions, since she knew the entire story by now thanks to their best friend Naruto. Crying silently in happiness and sorrow for his pain in such a happy moment, she tightened her grip, too. She wouldn't leave him alone and abandon him, no matter what would happen.

'Otō-san, Okaa-san, Nii-san – I finally found my own family, a place where I can stay.' He thought and looked up into the sky, seeing three shooting stars, which seemed like a response of them. A small smile crossed his lips, as a single man tear ran down his left cheek.


End file.
